Day 9 Shudder, shudder

Monday, November 07, 2016
Open sea, International
Day 9




Woke up to rocking and rolling as well as a shuddering bed . I wondered if Jacques was shaking the bed during a bad dream about running, but no, he was calm. It was the ship taking the waves that vibrated right into our mattress. The wind was 45 knots and 25-foot waves. With the time change, it was 5 am, too early for breakfast.

By 9 it was sunny, very windy but calmer. We had a pleasant but windy walk on the jogging deck, deck 13. But bad news was coming. The Captain had just announced that we wouldn't be stopping in Bermuda the next day. The weather there was 40-50 knot gale winds, so the harbor was shut. We were traveling on to Miami, hopefully docking earlier. That would make seven straight sea days, instead of the four I had planned.

Soon after the announcement today we had a presentation in the huge theater on the inner workings of the ship, presented by the talented, very funny cruise director, David. Things you might have wondered but never asked: yes, the delicious tap water is desalinated by reverse osmosis—whatever that means, all food waste is dehydrated into flakes and fed to the fish, of the 19 water-tight compartments, two can fill before the ship starts to sink, maximum speed is 25 knots (28 .87 mph), the average age of passengers on our crossing is 64 with the youngest only 1 and the oldest 94. Only having 16 passengers under 18 brought a small cheer to the audience. Everyone loves their grandkids but they appreciate not having a swimming pool full of them. This lack of children means that the 16 present are adored and pampered by all. Bright, little 21-month old Maddie caught our hearts as she ran down a corridor saying "I’m running" as her papa tried to keep up.

Next David presented a filmed interview with the Captain who shared his regrets about Bermuda but explained the situation in detail complete with radar images of the center of the storm right over Bermuda.

Finally, the Captain and his three Directors (hotel, engineering, deck) came on stage for a Q and A. The first question was whether our Bermuda port fees would be refunded—they were. Next, was why couldn’t we stop elsewhere—docks were still being repaired from the last hurricane. And on we went. Kudos to a great Captain, Directors, Cruise Director, and organization.

So after a relaxing lunch outside, it’s up to the spa where a treat awaits: looking out the panoramic window facing the front I see the smooth icy-silver water reflecting the sun, blue sky, and both above and below the clouds. Next a dark cloud, then what appeared to be a bank of clouds, which was in fact the clouds meeting the horizon. After wanting to escape the rocking, feeling trapped and claustrophobic, this freedom in the sky was the reward for enduring the bad weather.
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